Oemoemenoe #8: Dead Minutes

On Saturday, October 4, that game Dead Minutes, a project by artist Tom K. Kemp, takes place as part of the Local Nomadic Program Oemoemenoe. The game is part of a larger program and is not publicly accessible.

Dead Minutes is an interactive, narrative game for four players that revolves around systemic change in an undesirable afterlife. Together, participants construct an imaginary underworld: they decide what it looks like, what issues arise, and what obstacles emerge when attempts at change are made. By collaboratively building this fictional world, players create a framework in which they explore and address major themes such as power, climate, and social transformation. Each session is therefore unique, shaped entirely by the perspectives of the players.

For the upcoming edition of Dead Minutes, the group of players consists of people who are connected to Zeeland and its histories in various ways, such as a water management expert, a young person rooted in the region, a specialist in Zeeland’s history, and a local politician. Their contributions interweave personal experiences and local issues with the fictional world developed during the game. For this edition of Dead Minutes, artist Tom K. Kemp collaborates with writer Taylor Le Melle, who has been commissioned by Vleeshal to transform the stories and outcomes of the afternoon into a reflective text. This publicly accessible result offers an insight into collective imagination and the current themes at play in Zeeland.